St. Landry democrat., 1887-06-18
odS my meaning better that George Crabbe's

Church, these words Of Byron stand on bis
tombstone.
Born in fishing village, slightly educated
to be the village doctor and surgeon, he found
he had one talent which destroyed all the rest
in the way of making money-the power to
compose. Laboring with this talent, engaged
to be married, in somewhat poor health, he
finally resolved to go to London and see if he
could not get encouragement for his pen. 1t
was at this time that he wrote the poem
called "The Newspaper to be
drawn into that vortex which often devours
the talents. With hardly enough to keep
soul and body together, he spent a whole
year perfecting his versification and his
knowledge of the English language. He
could do nothing with the booksellers
because he had no reputation. He wrote to
several public men, for in that day it was the
statesman's habit to recognize literary genius
Chatterton had just kille,l himself after fail
ing in the city but he had not been honest
while Crabbe, though poor mans son, was
a gentleman.
His last despairing letter to Edmund Burke
changed all the conditions of his life. Burke
took him to his house, mhde him resident
there, introduced him to his society, had his
poems published by subscription and then
he was made clergyman of the Church Of
England which included the office of magis-
trate. Starting from the time OF DR.. John
son, who corrected one of his poems for the
press, this man lived down to the year 1882,
having been in the Established Church fifty
10 loft hphiH5 no ho
good clergy1nen ana magistrates as himself
His entire work was the depletion of Eng
ish character among the average and the
poorer classes, and it has never been done as
well by anybody else. He did not write
hectoring poetry, drawing moral at the end
OF every stanza; he simply set out the plain
est facts with the most subtle analysis and
in the most delightful English. The United
States has never had IN its literature primer
to compare with Crabbe's great study of his
nation and his times.
There was one period when he produced
nothing for tWenty-three years; and all this
time his tithes sustained himself and
family, and he was all the while perfecting
his mind, so as to get that machine in the
most wholesome order for the resumption
of his work. Had he lived in the United
States nearly every newspaper in the land
would have had paragraph about once
week saying that Crabbe had played out,
that Crabbe was Has Been" etc. The
persons who kept this poor mans sun up
and along were the statesmen and mobiles OF
England. No wonder that Mr.. Lowell
says that the influence of the nobility con-
tinues to be wholesome in that country.
Who can say that the influence of the
American politician is wholesome in any
thing?
In the early portion Of our history, there
was some recognition for a literature Gen
eral Washington took the only poets he
knew, Humphreys and Trumbull, and gave
them appointments. Irving and Hawthorne
were taken into the public service by Presi-
dents Van Buren, and Pierce. Mr.. Lincoln
gave foreign appointment to Mr.. Howells,
who is the most persevering of our novel
writers and to Mr. Neill, who has made the
most original historical discoveries of our
time. But in the American government
there was no literary force at all, and nearly
all the newspaper forces hold the govern
litical consideration the press is very apt TO
resent it. We are consequently growing up
to be just what the people claim against US
a race of nothing distinguished but our rich
men and Of nothing influential besides them
but the politicians and the newspapers.
On the other hand, the magnificent edifce
of British literature never could have been
reared upon the popular favor. The moment
Sir Walter Scott was heard of, William Pitt
asked, rs this man taken care of?' He was
taken care of by two offices which paid him
$4,000 and consumed hardly any ofhis time,
and by being made a barOnet. The public
men of England were the first to discover
and recognize him, and their approval pre-
scented him to the people.
Dean Swift, one of the most original men
of any literature, was provided, like Crabbe,
with the great Church of St. Patrick in Dub
lin, though he had no disposition for the
ministry, and in that place he produced his
extraordinary works.
Tom Moore was poor 1rishman, grocer's
son seeing how we'll he could write, the gov
eminent gave him an office, which allowed
him to follow literature all his days.
Fielding who was the precursor Of Dickens
and the founder of the British novel, was a
the most of his life. drawing the
public salary.
Anthony Trollope was connected with the
British postotice in such way as not to de-
YOUR all his time from his youth to his old
age The American danes and misses who
read his novels when there were few others
to read like them owed the enjoyment of
that man to the fact that there was a govern
ment which took pride in its literature.
was thinking but yesterday oft three men
who grew up in the same country, and OF how
different were their fates.
Scott. Burns and Calender were all Scotch
Burns would have hardly been heard of but
that the nobility and society of Edinburgh
took him by the hand and, bad as his habits
were, they gave him an office on which he
lived for life, and in that office he revived
and rewrote all the ballads of Scotland.
Scott and Calender were more nearly con-
Calender had as strong pen as Scott.
But he offended the government and fled to
America; and here spent his time abusing
Washington and Jefferson until
he became a pest in the land and was
drowned while drunk in canal. Had such
. l. l1.NlJ Sn,Ntf oVNI